Baptized with the Soil: Christian Agrarians and the Crusade for Rural America

Discusses movements and organizations that have been almost entirely ignored or dismissed by historians in recent decades

Demonstrates that the opposition to industrialized agriculture was not simply a fringe or reactionary element in American society; agrarianism was a vigorous and organized movement that had proponents in influential American institutions, including government

Demonstrates the degree to which state universities and extension services supported agrarianism and partnered with Christian churches

About this book

In the early twentieth century, many Americans were troubled by the way agriculture was becoming increasingly industrial and corporate. Mainline Protestant churches and cooperative organizations began to come together to promote agrarianism: the belief that the health of the nation depended on small rural communities and family farms. In Baptized with the Soil Kevin M. Lowe offers for the first time a comprehensive history of the Protestant commitment to rural America.

Christian agrarians believed that farming was the most moral way of life and a means for people to serve God by taking care of the earth that they believed God created. When the Great Depression hit, Christian agrarians worked harder to keep small farmers on the land. They formed alliances with state universities, cooperative extension services, and each other's denominations. They experimented with ways of revitalizing rural church life-including new worship services like Rural Life Sunday, and new strategies for raising financial support like the Lord's Acre. Because they believed that the earth was holy, Christian agrarians also became leaders in promoting soil conservation. Decades before the environmental movement, they inspired in their congregations an ethic of environmental stewardship. They may not have been able to prevent industrial agribusiness, but their ideas have helped define significant and long-lasting currents in American culture.

Contents

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Consecrating the American Countryside

1. Putting Down Roots: The Rural Church Movement and the Family Farm2. Working Together in God's Country: Training Agrarian Ministers and Missionaries3. Spiritual Efficiency: Rethinking the Rural Church Experience4. Cultivating the Kingdom: The Lord's Acre Movement5. The Gospel of the Soil: Soil Conservation and Environmental Stewardship

Conclusion: Baptized with the SoilNotesBibliographyIndex

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